. >> and on the house side, it's clear that boehner is sending a message to fellow republicans in the house who have got to make extra steps that we didn't before. >> i think that's true. and i think the president has responded by saying that i'm not whetted to the idea of tax rate increases. i'll settle for more revenue if that's what i can get. >> you got senators reid and mcconnell to actually sit together. >> it was like arranging the paris pease talks or the camp david talks. it wasn't easy. >> were they as uncomfortable as they looked sitting next to each other? >> yes. >> and what did you learn from that? >> well, i think that -- what can you say? they don't strike me as two guys that are -- can sit down in a room over a whiskey and kind of work things out. they're very locked in their ways and they are both political tacticians. that's what they do. >> they are brilliant political tacticians. anybody who knows senator mcconnell and reid knows that. they're both very good at what they do, and outmaneuvering one another, which raises the question, with no personal relationship a